Abortion in Montana is legal. The number of
abortion clinics in Montana has fluctuated over the years, with twenty in 1982, twelve in 1992, eight providers of which seven were clinics in 2011, and five clinics in 2014. There were four clinics from 2015 to February 2018 when All Families Healthcare clinic in Whitefish reopened. There were 1,690 legal
abortions in 2014, and 1,611 in 2015.
Terminology
The abortion debate most commonly relates to the "
induced abortion" of a pregnancy, which is also how the term is used in a legal sense.
[According to the Supreme Court's decision in ''Roe v. Wade'':](a) For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester, the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgement of the pregnant woman's attending physician. (b) For the stage subsequent to approximately the end of the first trimester, the State, in promoting its interest in the health of the mother, may, if it chooses, regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health. (c) For the stage subsequent to viability, the State in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgement, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.
Likewise, ''Black's Law Dictionary'' defines abortion as "knowing destruction" or "intentional expulsion or removal". Some also use the term "elective abortion", which is used in relation to a claim to an unrestricted right of a woman to an abortion, whether or not she chooses to have one. The term elective abortion or voluntary abortion describes the interruption of pregnancy before viability at the request of the woman, but not for medical reasons.
Anti-abortion advocates tend to use terms such as "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child", and see the medical terms "
embryo
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...
", "
zygote
A zygote (, ) is a eukaryotic cell formed by a fertilization event between two gametes. The zygote's genome is a combination of the DNA in each gamete, and contains all of the genetic information of a new individual organism.
In multicellula ...
", and "
fetus
A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal deve ...
" as
dehumanizing. Both "pro-choice" and "
pro-life
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
" are examples of terms labeled as
political framing: they are terms which purposely try to define their philosophies in the best possible light, while by definition attempting to describe their opposition in the worst possible light. "Pro-choice" implies that the alternative viewpoint is "anti-choice", while "pro-life" implies the alternative viewpoint is "pro-death" or "anti-life". The
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
encourages journalists to use the terms "abortion rights" and "anti-abortion".
Context
A 2014
''New England Journal of Medicine'' study found that free birth control correlated to fewer teenage pregnancies and subsequent abortions. At the same time, a 2011 study by
Center for Reproductive Rights
The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) is a global legal advocacy organization that seeks to advance reproductive rights, such as abortion. The organization's stated mission is to "use the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental huma ...
and
Ibis Reproductive Health
Charlotte Ellertson (March 2, 1966 – March 21, 2004) was named one of 50 most influential people in women's health. She is a key reason women achieved “the regulatory, clinical, and policy changes that made these methods more widely availabl ...
also found that states with more abortion restrictions have higher rates of maternal death, higher rates of uninsured pregnant women, higher rates of infant and child deaths, higher rates of teens with substance use and excessive alcohol use, and lower rates of cancer screening.
According to a 2017 report from the Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health, states that tried to pass additional constraints on a women's ability to access legal abortions had fewer policies supporting women's health, maternal health and children's health. These states also tended to resist expanding Medicaid, family leave, medical leave, and sex education in public schools.
According to Megan Donovan, a senior policy manager at the
Guttmacher Institute
The Guttmacher Institute is a research and policy NGO that aims to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. This research organization was started in 1968 and works to study, educate, and advance sexual and reproductive health ...
, states have legislation seeking to protect a woman's right to access abortion services have the lowest rates of infant mortality in the United States.
History
Legislative history
In 1997, the
Montana Legislature
The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate.
The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature meet ...
passed a law that said only physicians could perform abortions. After a lawsuit, they changed the law to allow nurse practitioners to perform abortions.
As of 2017,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
,
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, and
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
allow qualified non-physician health professionals, such as
physicians' assistants,
nurse practitioners
A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse and a type of mid-level practitioner. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, formulate and prescribe ...
, and certified nurse
midwives
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
, to do first-trimester
aspiration abortions and to prescribe drugs for
medical abortion
A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical abortions such as vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage. Medical ...
s. As of May 1, 2018, there were no major legal restrictions on abortions.
As of May 14, 2019, the Montana Legislature prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
in 1973 with the ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' ruling. In 2018, advanced practice clinicians were legally allowed to provide abortion services. This group included physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, and advanced practice nurses.
Judicial history
The Supreme Court of the United States' decision in 1973's ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.
However, the Supreme Court overturned ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' in ''
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', , is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both ''R ...
'', later in 2022.
In 1997, All Families Healthcare took the state to court to challenge its law stating that only physicians could perform abortions.
In April 2018, two nurses succeeded in getting an injunction as part of a lawsuit against the state to try to allow advanced practice nurses to perform abortions. Montana's Attorney General Tim Fox appealed the injunction.
Clinic history
![Number of abortion clinics in Montana by year](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Number_of_abortion_clinics_in_Montana_by_year.png)
Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by eight, going from twenty in 1982 to twelve in 1992.
All Families Healthcare opened in 1994.
In 2011, there were eight abortion providers in the state, of which seven were classified as abortion clinics.
In 2014, there were five abortion clinics in the state.
93% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 55% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic. In March 2016, there were five
Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
clinics in the state.
In 2017, there were five Planned Parenthood clinics in a state with a population of 215,806 women aged 15–49 of which four offered abortion services. In 2018, the closest abortion clinics to Flathead Valley were in Missoula, Great Falls, Helena or Billings. These were all over 100 miles away, requiring women to travel great distances to have an abortion. All Families Healthcare clinic in Whitefish closed for four years in early 2015, before reopening in February 2018.
Statistics
In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion death in the state. In 1990, 84,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.
Between 2011 and 2014, the abortion rate in Montana declined 26%.
In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 180 abortions, 0 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 10 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 0 abortions for women of all other races. In 2014, 56% of Montana adults said in a poll by the
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
that abortion should be legal while 38% believed it should be illegal in all or most cases. In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Abortion financing
![State_abortion_funding](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/State_abortion_funding.svg)
Seventeen states including Montana use their own funds to cover all or most "medically necessary" abortions sought by low-income women under
Medicaid
Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
, thirteen of which are required by State court orders to do so. In 2010, the state had 422 publicly funded abortions, of which were 5 federally funded and 417 were state funded.
In 2018, women in
Flathead Valley
The Flathead Valley is a region of the U.S. state located in the Northwestern Montana. It includes parts of Flathead County and Lake County. Notable communities include Kalispell, Bigfork, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Polson, Ronan, and St. ...
were waiting for insurance companies to pay for IUDs or implants. While waiting for the company to pay, they got pregnant and ended up getting an abortion.
Abortion rights views and activities
Clinic protection
Around 100 volunteers support All Families Healthcare. This included driving women long distances for appointments, escorting patients inside and shoveling the sidewalk outside the clinic.
Protests
Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.
Anti-abortion views and activities
Activities
In 2018, anti-abortion rights activists regularly protested outside All Families Healthcare.
Violence
On March 29, 1993, at the Blue Mountain Clinic in
Missoula, Montana
Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...
, at around 1 a.m., an arsonist snuck onto the premises and firebombed the clinic. The perpetrator, a Washington man, was ultimately caught, convicted and imprisoned. The facility was a near-total loss, but all of the patients' records, though damaged, survived the fire in metal file cabinets.
[Arson suspected in abortion clinic fire]
. ''Amarillo Globe-News''. Associated Press. May 30, 2000.
Footnotes
References
{{Abortion by US state
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
Healthcare in Montana
Women in Montana